I. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to an improved structure of terminal legs for a connector and, more specifically, to terminal legs for a connector which is molded into a contact column and a contact plate and can be secured onto the circuit board by means of soldering or SMD (surface mounting device).
II. Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore, it is known to construct a computer connector (a) having a plurality of L-shaped terminals (b) at the rear side, as shown in FIG. 4. Each L-shaped terminal (b) of such construction typically has a contact column (b1) that goes through the through contact (c1) of the circuit board (c) and is soldered onto the circuit board (c). To solder the terminal (b) of the connector (a) to the circuit board (c) typically results in a large volume of the connector.
It is also known to construct a terminal of a computer connector having a contact plate secured on the surface contact of the circuit board by means of SMD, as shown in FIG. 5. A connector (a) of this kind is typically connected to a plurality of Z-shaped terminals (d), with each terminal (d) having a contact plate (d1) secured to the surface contact (c2) of the circuit board (c) by means of SMD.
Although it is fast and convenient to secure the contact plate (d1) of the Z-shaped terminals (d) to the circuit board (c) by SMD, when some contact plate (d1) of the Z-shaped terminals (d) have bad contact with the circuit board (c), it cannot be fixed and the connector has to be discarded.
The present invention improves on the heretofore known connector terminals by providing a connector having a plurality of slots for incorporating one end of the terminals. The other ends of the terminals are to be attached to the circuit board. The leg of each terminal is molded into a contact column and a contact plate, with the contact plate residing at the lateral side of the contact column. The contact column goes through the through contact of the circuit board and is soldered onto the circuit board. The contact plate is secured on the surface contact of the circuit board by means of SMD. Based on the structure described above, the legs of the terminals can be soldered onto the circuit board in case that SMD fails to secure the legs onto the circuit board.
It is therefore a primary object of the invention to provide a terminal for a connector with a contact column and a contact plate, which can be secured onto the circuit board by soldering or SMD.